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ATHENS, Ohio — In a nondescript office building on the edge of this college town, seven women
are helping pioneer a new way to retire.

The women, sweating it up in a recent yoga class, belong to the Village to Village movement, an
innovative way to help senior citizens get the services they need to remain in their homes.

Retirees have united to fund transportation, social and recreational activities (such as yoga),
home maintenance and other services.

“We want to stay in our own homes,” said Cynthia Love, a 75-year-old former Ohio University
administrator who joined the Athens group, called Athens Village, about a year ago. “That’s the
main goal — and to not depend on our children all the time.”

Under the village movement, now 12 years old, participants pay dues and, in return, receive help
with services. The movement has mushroomed in the past few years as senior citizens enjoying longer
lives try to remain independent. Members liken the groups to modern versions of a village, in which
neighbors rely on one another as they age.

Ohio is home to four “villages,” and several more are being formed, including Village
Connections in German Village, which is expecting nonprofit status any day.

Organizations that work with senior citizens are closely watching the movement. The Central Ohio
Area Agency on Aging, which gave Village Connections $7,000 in seed money, hopes the movement
catches on, Director Cindy Farson said.

“With the aging of the population, it will really be tough to provide all the services in a
traditional way,” Farson said. “We see this as an innovative way for people to stay in their homes
in a very individualized way.”

Ed Elberfeld, a retired art teacher who is president of Village Connections, sees the
organization as a new model for aging.

“The old model is you work till you’re 65 and drop dead two years later. That’s not happening.
We live another 20 years, and, for most people, there’s this huge period of relatively good health
that might require some help.

“I moved here in 1975. I bought a trashed-out house and fixed it up. I don’t want to leave this
house,” he said. “This would provide services like driving to the doctor, troubleshooting a
computer, helping with yardwork, going to grocery stores and vetting service providers such as
plumbers or electricians.”

A group of senior citizens in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood formed the first village
organization in 2001. The movement has grown to include almost 100 communities nationwide and
another 125 in development, according to the Village to Village network, an association of the
groups.

“In 2005 and 2006, people started hearing about it, and then it spread like wildfire,” said Rita
Kostiuk, a program manager with the national network. “These people don’t want to retire the same
way their parents did it; they want more control.”

The growth in the villages reflects the growth in senior citizens. More than 40 million
Americans — 13 percent of the population — are 65 or older, according to the Census Bureau. By
2040, the number is expected to double to 81 million, or 20 percent of the population.

Most of those senior citizens want to stay in their home, among their friends, connections and
memories. According to a 2010 AARP survey, 88 percent of Americans 65 or older would like to remain
in their home as long as possible.

To fund the services they need, village members pay annual dues. According to a Rutgers
University study, the average annual cost is $431 a person and $587 a household. In addition to the
dues, most villages receive grants, donations and other funding.

The Athens Village charges $400 a year for individual members and $800 for couples. Village
Connections plans to charge individuals $500 a year and households $750.

Although that might seem like a lot of money, Elberfeld notes that it pales in comparison with
the cost of a nursing-home stay or home health care.

The average cost of a private room in an Ohio nursing home was $81,213 last year, according to
the insurance and financial company Genworth. An assisted-living facility cost an average of
$44,550, while home health care cost $43,197.

Village dues typically cover the cost of a staff person who coordinates services and helps pay
for events. The most popular service is transportation help. Another is home- maintenance
assistance.

Several Athens Village members said the biggest perk of membership is being able to call on Lane
Hoisington, a retired Ohio University grounds supervisor who serves as a jack-of-all-trades for the
village.

Dues allow a member three free hours of work by Hoisington each year. After that, he can be
hired for $22 an hour. The most requested chores, he said, are simple ones such as changing ceiling
light bulbs, checking smoke detectors or tightening door handles.

But just as important are the less tangible rewards such as the sense of community that the
villages seek to foster.

When Athens Village member Sara Gilfert had to place James, her husband of 60 years, in an
institution because of his dementia, she found the organization helpful in locating places — but
said the social support was most valuable.

“This is an interested, loving, caring group,” she said. “If I ever needed anything, I can rely
on them.”